• I thought that Canonbie Primary School just didn't want the hassle again.

    I test rode the LEL route prior to that control moving from Canonbie to Eskdalemuir.
    a) I didn't spot any useful shops in Canonbie anyway. The only stuff with a chance of being open odd hours is in Longtown.
    b) The back road route from Canonbie to Langholm (over Byre Burn and then the B6318) is very lumpy indeed. My legs did not like it on fixed. The A7 is much kinder.
    c) The route went past Eskdalemuir anyway (the B709 is a gorgeous road)
    d) The Samye Ling Buddhist temple just up from Eskdalemuir was also touted as a possible control or sleep stop

  • Canonbie is a bit of a dump though... Whoops old rivalries die hard!

    Funnily enough I went to the little school in Eskdalemuir before it was shut down 10 years or so ago, there were 15 of us spread over the 7 years! Also my best friends dad is one of the leaders of the community group who now run the centre. There are a lot of great people round there, not many cyclists though!

    Samye Ling is a slightly strange place, that has become a bit commercial and a bit of a circus these days. But I suppose its the reason I ended up there instead of growing up in Hackney where I was born, so I have something to thank it for (no offence meant to anyone who grew up in hackney).

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